Freshman QB Julian Lewis got his first extended playing time of his career in the second half of Saturday's blowout home loss to Arizona. Lewis flashed the potential that made him one of the nation's most sought-after QB prospects during the 2025 cycle. He threw a 59-yard touchdown pass to Omarion Miller and finished the game 9-of-17 for 121 yards.
The expectation following the game was that Lewis' time was now. At 3-6, Colorado is playing for little outside of pride and the development of its younger players. According to Matt Zenitz, it sounds like Deion Sanders is finally ready to pull the trigger on turning the keys over to the freshman star:
Colorado is currently expected to make a QB change and start freshman Julian Lewis vs. West Virginia this weekend, sources tell @CBSSports.
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) November 3, 2025
Was a Class of 2025 top-50 overall recruit. pic.twitter.com/YUn8NYAPG3
Neither Kaidon Salter nor Ryan Staub has been the answer for Colorado at QB. Salter has been inconsistent and could do little to get the offense moving against either Utah or Arizona. Staub replaced him to open the second half on Saturday and threw two interceptions on his two pass attempts before Coach Prime turned things over to Lewis.
Deion Sanders facing a tough decision with Julian Lewis
The handling of Lewis this year makes you question whether Sanders and the coaching staff ever had any plan at all for the freshman phenom. After spending the offseason talking up the QB competition between Lewis and Salter, the freshman never seemed to get an actual opportunity during the season to compete for the job despite Salter's struggles.
Lewis got into the game for a series in Week 2 against Delaware, but was immediately replaced by Ryan Staub, who came out of nowhere to become the backup to Salter. Staub started the Week 3 road game against Houston, and then subbed in for Salter against Utah in the second half and was first off the bench against Arizona, too.
At a certain point, it seemed obvious that Coach Prime was working to preserve a redshirt season for Lewis. But his getting into the game last weekend during a blowout could set him up to burn that redshirt season.
Lewis has now appeared in two games. He can appear in two more and still preserve a season of eligibility. The problem with that is Colorado has three regular-season games remaining.
If Lewis plays in all three, he will lose a season of eligibility. If he's as good as he has been billed to be, maybe that doesn't matter anyway. But you never know what can happen in college football, and preserving that season of eligibility is the right decision for Sanders to make for Lewis, even if the freshman lobbies to play.
Lewis should start the next two weeks and then be benched for the final game of the season.